Window ventilator



D. s. FUNK 2,388,734

WINDOW VENTILATOR Nov. 13, 1945.

Filed Dec. 22, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet l s fos mg; l

1' I" Ll ml II NI A X A R? R INVENTOR.

1705mm; & Fuzz/0,

u I N 05g Nov. 13, 1945. D; s. FUNK WINDOW VENTILAI'OR Filed Dec. 22, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 50min? 1N VENT OR.

Nov. 13, 1945. D. s. FUNK WINDOW VENTILATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 22, 1941 INVENTOR. BY 50 naafi. fZui/o,

Patented Nov. 13, 1945 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE W VENTILATOB Donald S. Funk, Oak Park, Hi.

Application December 22, 1941, Serial No. 423,937

7 Claims.

This invention relates to a window ventilator of the type embodying housed blower equipment adapted to receive fresh air from outside the window and to. blow it into the room to be ventilated.

Objects of the invention are to provide a ventilator of said type improved as to general character and construction and which will operate highly efficiently either to supply fresh air from the outdoors to the room to be ventilated or to recirculate the air in the room or to ventilate the room partially by such re-circulation and partially by supplying fresh air thereto, and which can also operat to exhaust air from the room; to provide in such ventilator a construction whereby it can operate in a conventional manher for normal circulation and in an alternative manner to blow the air therefrom into the room against a heat radiator located in the room below the window in or at which the ventilator is installed, so that in cold weather the incoming air can be heated to prevent chilling the room; to provide a ventilator of said type improved as to the feature of construction thereof whereby it can operate for re-circulating the air in the room; to provide in such ventilator an improvement with reference to the construction, arrangement and mounting of theblower equipment; to provide a ventilator of said type embodying an improved sectional construction whereby the blowing equipment is carried by a conveniently removable front liousing section supported by a rear housing section attachable to the window frame; to provide a ventilator of said type which can be installed without projection of any part thereof through the window, and which will allow closing of the lower window sash behind it; and

to provide improved means for sealing the window to which the ventilator is applied.

The invention will be best understood by reference to an illustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a ventilator embodying the invention installed in or at a window of a room .which is heated by a heat radiator set adjacent to the wall below the window.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows, showing the ventilator and heat radiator in side elevation.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section of the ventilator taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section through a part of the ventilator taken on the line E4 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing the provision of a seal between the upper and lower sashes of the window..

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section of the ventilator, showing parts within the ventilator housing partly in elevation and partly in section.

Figs. '7 and 8 are side elevations of the front and back sections of the ventilator.

The drawings represent a ventilator of one practicable construction embodying the several features of the invention. It will be understood that the following description thereof is to be taken as exemplary and not as limiting the invention beyond the terms of the claims appended hereto.

As represented in the drawings, the ventilator is supported on the sill l of a window which may be of the conventional type comprising upper and lower sashes vertically slidable in the window frame 2. In the drawings, 3 is the glass window pane in the lower sash, and 4 and 5 are the top and bottom members of the lower sash. In Fig. 5, showing a part of the upper sash, B is the pane of glass therein and I is the bottom member of said upper sash. The ventilator housing is rigidly fixed to the window frame by attachment thereto of wing plates 8 rigid with and extending laterally from the ventilator housing; said housing and plates closing the gap between the window sill and lower sash, the latter being partially raised to allow air from the outdoors to pass into the ventilator housing through its rear inlet opening 9 (Fig. 3). In the room to be ventilated is a heat radiator l0 set adjacent to the wall ll below the window. As represented in Fig. 2, the ventilator overhangs the space between the radiator and said well. the front of the ventilator housing being over the radiator.

The ventilator housing, comprising abutting separably connected front and back housing sections l2 and It, provides a chamber containing blower equipment and a duct ll extending forwardly therefrom. In the normal operation of the apparatus, air admitted to the ventilator housing is blown through the duct I 4 into the room to be ventilated, the discharge taking place through an opening IS in the front wall of the front housing section l2, which opening is controlled by a, series of pivoted louvers l6 mounted in the louver frame I! which rigidly connects the discharge end of said duct It to the front housing section (Fig. 3). The louvers are operable in @5021 di ecting the discharging air upwardly or downwardly or horizontally into the room as preferred, or for closing or partially closing the discharge opening if desired. Conventional mechanism for operating the louvers is shown in Figs. 4 and 6. the louver pintles being formed with crank arms is pivotally connected to a link I! having a pin engaged by a forked lever 2| operated by a handle 22.

As best shown in Figs. 3 and 6, the blower equipment of the illustrative apparatus is represented by a pair of centrifugal air blowers operated by an electric motor 23 arranged therebetween, said motor and blowers being mounted on and carried by said duct I4 and the blowers discharging thereinto through dischargeopenings I in the upper wall of said duct at its receiving end. As shown in the drawings, the motor drives a horizontal shaft 25 extending therethrough. Fixed to said shaft are the blower fans 28, each comprising an annular series of vanes, said fans rotating in volute type fan casings 21 having intake openings 28; the arrangement being such that the direction of rotation is clockwise as v w n 3, so that the air impelled by centrifugal force from the peripheries of the fans whirls around in the volute spaces of the fan casings and discharges downwardly through the openings 24 into the duct I l, the latter being curved to form a continuation of the curvature of the volute passages in the fan casings.

As best shown in Fig. 3, the bottom wall of the duct H under the discharge openings from the blowers is formed in part by a damper as which in the normal position shown closes the entrance to a downwardly extending duct Ill. The damper 28 can be operated from the position shown in Fig. 3 to a position for closing the passage through the duct H. For so operating the damper, its pintle is provided with a lever arm ll connected by a rod 32 to a lever arm 38 on the pintle of an operating handle 34. when the damper 2a is thrown to a position to close the passage through the duct I, it opens the passage from the blowers through the duct and thence through a duct which depends behind the heat radiator ll, said duct 35 being formed at its lower end for discharging the air against said heat radiator, whereby the air supplied to the room in cold weather can be heated to prevent chilling the room.

Air can be admitted to the ventilator housing either from the outdoors or from the room to be ventilated or both. In the illustrative construction, the lower window sash slidesbehind the ventilator housing and is utilized for controlling the air inlet opening I (Fig. 3) or for closing or partially closing the same. when the window sash is in the position shown in Fig. 3, the inlet opening 9 is fully opened. Air admitted through the opening 9 is filtered by passing through a filter I.

To permit the blowers to draw air through the ventilator housing from the room to be ventilated, the curved lower front part of the front housing section If is formed as a door 31, this door being normally closed. The effect of opening said door I! is to check or reduce the amount of air drawn from the outdoors, since when the door is open the blowers will be drawing air both from the outdoors and from the indoors. The door 31 is pivoted to its upper end, and it swings from closed position downwardly, for avardly and upwardly. In its open position shown in Fig. 3, it forms a hood over the radiator It, so that in the operaassays is drawn into the ventilator from the region of heated air over the radiator. Said door 31 is shown provided with an operating knob 38, and has pivoted to its inner side a rod or bar 39 formed as a doubled piece of spring steel the legs of which are sprung apart and frictionally engaged with a guide ll, whereby the door 31 can be held either in its full open position shown in Fig. 3 or in any intermediate position as well as closed position.

Thus the ventilator can operate efficiently either to blow fresh filtered air in large volumes into the room to be ventilated or to re-circulate the air of the room in large volumes, or to ventilate the room both by such re-circulation and supp y large volumes of fresh filtered air thereto, and it can operate to blow the air one way through the duct ll and past the louvers It for normal ventilation and another way down through'the duct 3! and against the radiator for heating the incoming air; while still another possible variation would be to adjust the damper II to a mid-position, so as to allow the air drawn into the blowers to discharge into the room partly through the duct I I and partly through the depending duct 35 and against the radiator.

An important accomplishment in this connection is that in cold weather it is possible, with the use of a ventilator embodying the invention, to keep the room well ventilated by supplying fresh ventilated air thereto from the outdoors without chilling the room. It is well known that transfer of heat from a radiating surface to air is most efllciently accomplished by forcibly blowing the air against a radiating surface. In tests with apparatus embodying the invention, under conditions when the outdoor temperature was below freezing, it has been found that with the air inlet 0 wide open and the ventilator operating at full capacity the air delivered into the room by blowing it against the radiator (the latter being at a temperature considerably above the desired room temperature) will pass from the radiator at a temperature in excess of the desired room temperature.

A general objection to prior window ventilators is that in even moderately cold weather they will chill the room to be ventilated. To preeffect of a unit'heater.

vent or reduce chilling, it has been customary to reduce or close the opening for inlet 01' cold air from the outdoors, and to operate the ventilator principally or wholly for re-circulating the air of the room; but this entails the objection that the room is not receiving the amount of fresh filtered air desired; moreover even the admission of a small amount of cold air from the outdoors into a room will often chili it belowthe desired room temperature. However with apparatus embodying the present invention it is possible in moderately cold or freezing weather to ventilate eifectivelywithout reducing the opening for inlet of air from the outdoors, while avoiding chilling. With the invention, the heat radiator may be utilised principally for heating the air delivered by the ventilator, whereby to maintain the room supplied with fresh filtered air delivered from the radiators at a temperature higher than the desired room temperature.

For simply raising the temperature of the room without admitting fresh air, the unit may be used in conjunction with the radiator to produce the For this purpose the damper I1 is opened and the room air is drawn into the unit and forced downward through duct tion of re-circulating the air of the room the air II and out through the radiator. As this 9 1 tion is continued. the air in the room is gradually heated until the room temperature has been materially raised.

Tests show that with the unit o rating in this way the air leaving the radiator is frequently as much as to degrees higher than the room temperature and that in a few minutes the room temperature may be raised seven or more degrees with an outdoor temperature below freez ins.

In use, the room temperature can be brought from well below the comfort temperature to normal, and then the full ventilating capacity (outdoor air) with no recirculation, can be used without chilling the room, or even changing the room temperature.

In addition to its other capacities above mentioned, the ventilator can also be operated to exhaust air from the room. To adapt it for operation as an exhauster', the damper 2| (Fig. 3) is swung to position to close the e through the duct l4, and then the damper 4| is swung from th normal position shown in Fig. 3 to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 8, whereupon the blowers will discharge downwardly through the duct 30 to an exhaust duct 42. The back housing section I; is formed with a bottom box portion 43 open at its back end and providing said discharge duct 42 therein. Extending through this box portion 43 is a duct section 44, the back wall of which is provided by the damper 4| when the latter is in the normal position shown in Fig; 3. Said duct section 44, constituted in part by said damper 4|, normally connects the duct 30 with the depending discharge duct 38. when the damper 4| is swu from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 8, it cuts off the passage to the depending duct 35 and connects the duct ll with the exhaust duct 42. The damper 4| is pivoted at 48. It is spring-held in the normal position shown in Fig. 3 by the retractile spring 48 connected with a lever arm 41 on the pivot rod 4! to which the damper is aillxed. The damper is swung to the position shown in Fig. 8 by pulling back the bandle 48 of a pull rod 49 pivotally connected to said lever arm. Said pull rod 48 has a notch 50 for engaging a fixed catch 5| whereby to hold the. damper 4| in the position for exhaust.

As will be best understood by reference to Figs. 7 and 8, the ventilator is constructed in'two sec-- tions. The back housing section II, which is a boxlike structure open at its front end and having the bottom box portion 43 and back inlet opening 9 for admission of outside air to the ventilator, is supported on the window sill and rigidly afiixed to the window frame as before described. The front housing section l2, which abuts against and is rigidly separably connected to the back housing section, is constructed with a rearwardly extending bottom member 8! which rests drawerlike in the back housing section I! and which supports the blower equipment and duct l4, said blower equipment and adjacent portion of duct l4 and duct 30 being enclosed by the back housing section. The front housing section carrying the blower equ pment can be readily installed by sliding its bottom extension I2 into the back housing section II and bringing the front housing section I: into juxtaposition with said 70 back housing section, whereupon the two sections are automatically rigidly locked together by gaging catches 84 fixed to the inner sides of the back housing section. Said catches 84 are preferably adiustably secured to the back housing section, as by means of a bolt and slot connection therewith, to permit adjustment of the catches to position to insure a tight connection of the two housing sections when the hooks or latches it are engaged with the catches 54. To permit removal of the front section of the ventilator, the hooks II can be swung out of engagement with the catches 54 by operation of handles 55 aflixed to the pivots of said hooks. By virtue of the described sectional construction of the ventilator, the front section thereof carrying the blower equipment can be used either with a back section of the specific construction herein shown and described or with a back housing section of a different construction and adapted to be differently mounted. The back housing section of the illustrative ventilator structure is adapted to be installed without projection of any part thereof through the window, the lower sash of which slides behind it and is utilized as aforesaid to control the opening 9 for admission of outside air to the ventilator; but the front section of the ventilator could be used with a back section of standard type which is adapted to be mounted under the lower sash and to project partly outdoors.

To seal the ventilator with respect to the lower window sash, so as to prevent air from the outdoors from passing into the room between the bottom member 5 of the lower sash and back of -the ventilator, a sealing means is provided as follows: Mounted an appropriate distance apart on the ventilator or wing plates 8 thereof are a pair of doubly bent or channel shaped fittings I with the legs thereof projecting rearwardly from their central portions. Slideabiy mounted in the fittings 56 is an angle bar 51 carrying a felt strip El ailixed thereto and engaging the glass window pane I of the lower sash, said felt strip being pressed against the glass window pane by set screws 5! screwed in the fittings it and bearing against said angle bar 51. The angle bar can be readily lifted out of the fittings 56 by taking hold of the hooks Bl afhxed to said angle bar and, by means of the hooks, tilting the angle bar upwardly and withdrawing it from the fittings and lifting it out of place.

For sealing between the upper and lower window sash, there is provided, as shown in Fig. 5,

a bar 6| fastened by thumb screws 62 to the top I member 4 of the lower sash and carrying a. felt strip 63 hearing against the pane of glass 8 in the upper sash.

In the drawings, the numeral 64 designates a knob for operating a rotary switch BI by which to control the circuit of the fan motor 23.

Obviously the illustrative apparatus may be variously modified as to form, proportions and details of construction and arrangement to suit various different requirements and conditions; furthermore it is not indispensable that all of the features of the invention be used conicintly, since different features thereof may be advantageously used in various different combinations and subcombinations.

I claim:

1. In a window ventilator of the type comprising a housing, a blower arranged therein'to receive air from. outside the window through the housing and to blow it into the room to be ventilated, a duct arranged .in said housing to discharge through the front thereof air delivered by said blower, the combination of a second duct for discharge from said blower to either of the hereinafter mentioned other ducts, a damper operable for connecting said first mentioned and second ducts alternatively to the blower, an exhaust duct, a duct for discharge against a heat radiator, and a damper operable for connecting said last two mentioned ducts alternatively to said second duct.

2. A window ventilator as set forth in claim 1 wherein said damper in one extreme position forms a part of the wall of said first mentioned duct and closes said second duct and in its other extreme position forms a part of the wall of said second duct and closes said first mentioned duct.

3. In a window ventilator of the type comprising a housing, a blower adapted to receive air from outside the window through the housing and to blow it into the room to be ventilated, a duct arranged in said housing and discharging through the front thereof, the combination of a second duct for discharge from said blower against a heat radiator in said room, a' damper operable for connecting said ducts alternatively with said blower, a door at the lower front of the ventilator housing adapted to be opened to permit re-circulation of air of the room by the ventilator, said door being adapted to swing downwardly and forwardly and to provide a hood whereby air for recirculation may be drawn into the ventilator housing from the region of a heat radiator disposed below said door and a duct leading from said door to the blower.

4. A window ventilator comprising a housing adapted to be supported on the sill of a window and to overhang a heat radiator disposed in the room to be ventilated adjacent to the wall below said window, said housing having an inlet for air from outside the window, a centrifugal blower supported and enchambered by said housing and adapted to take in air through said inlet, a duct in said housing for discharge from said blower into said room through the front part of said housing, a second duct for discharge from said blower to either of the two hereinafter mentioned other ducts, means for connecting said first mentioned and second ducts alternatively with said blower, an exhaust duct, a duct depending from said housing for dischargin against said radiator, and means for connecting said exhaust duct and depending duct alternatively to said second duct.

5. A window ventilator comprising a housing adapted to be supported on the sill of a window and to overhang a heat radiator disposed in the room to be ventilated adjacent to the wall below said window, said housing having an inlet for air from outside the window, a centrifugal blower supported and enchambered by said housing and adapted to take in air through said inlet, a duct in said housing for discharge from said blower into said room through the front part of said housing, a second duct for discharge from said blower against said radiator, means for connecting said ducts alternatively with said blower, an inlet duct communicating with the blower and terminating in an inlet openin from said room in the lower front part of the ventilator housing, and a hood depending from above said opening whereby to cause re-circuiation through the ventilator of air from the region Just above the radiator.

6. A window ventilator comprising a housing adapted to be installed at a window with its interior in communication with the outdoors. a centrifugal blower supported and enchambered by said housing and adapted to take in air therefrom, a duct in said housing for discharge from said blower to the room to be ventilated through the front part of said housing, another duct for discharge from said blower, a damper operable for connecting said ducts alternatively with said blower, said damper in one extreme position forming a part of the wall of said first mentioned duct and closing said second duct and in its other extreme position forming a part of the wall of said second duct and closing said first mentioned duct, an air intake duct leading from the forward lower portion of the housing to the blower, and a closure for the intake end of said duct hinged to swing outwardly to provide a defiector for controlling the direction of air flow to said duct.

7. Means for sealing a ventilator to the lower sash of a window, comprising spaced apart'fittings carried by the ventilator structure, an angle bar detachably mounted in said fittings, a felt strip carried by said bar, means for adjustably pressing said strip against the window pane of the lower sash, and hooks on said bar by which to lift it out of said fittings and to lower it into place in said fittings.

DQNA LD S. FUNK. 

